1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a remote control signal generation device and a remote control system for converting a primary remote control signal compliant to one code system according to a predetermined remote controller into a secondary remote control signal compliant to another code system and outputting the secondary remote control signal.
2. Related Art
There has already been proposed a technology of receiving a remote control signal as a light signal from one remote controller (a transmitter), and converting the signal into a remote control signal for each of manufacturers and sequentially re-emitting light in accordance with the converted signal, thereby making it possible to operate two or more apparatuses of different manufacturers (see JP-A-5-56484, paragraphs 0001-0004, FIG. 1 (Document 1)).
According to the proposal in the Document 1, it is arranged to receive an infrared remote control signal by a light receiving section to convert it into an electrical signal, shape the waveform thereof after detection to input it to a CPU, make out an instruction in the remote control signal by the CPU, extract corresponding data from a memory section storing remote control signals for respective manufacturers as data, and emit the infrared remote control signal from a light emitting section based on the extracted data.
Further, on the other hand, there has been proposed a technology for automating an operation for designating a manufacturer in the conversion of the infrared remote control signal as described above (see JP-A-2005-269372, paragraphs 0003-0008, FIG. 1 (Document 2)).
According to the proposal in the Document 2, it is arranged to detect which remote control signal codes of two or more manufacturers prepared previously the electrical signal received by the light receiving section corresponds to, retrieve and then transmit the remote control signal related to a target device corresponding to the remote control signal code detected as corresponding thereto from a code storage section, and thus applying the remote control signal to remote control operations.
However, according to the technologies disclosed in the Document 1 or the Document 2, although convenience that a single remote controller can cope with two or more household electrical appliances can be obtained, the remote controller needs to be originally configured capable of coping with two or more target apparatuses and have a highly functional specification provided with a so-called multi-remote controller function.
Therefore, it would have to be said that such a remote controller has grossly excessive performance for an ordinary user who uses an ordinary remote controller with full satisfaction and does not particularly desire the multi-remote control function.
Therefore, it is conceivable that it does not conform with actual user needs in many cases to sell a single household electrical appliance such as a digital broadcasting receiver uniformly bundled with such a remote controller having a highly functional specification.
On the other hand, for the user who desires such a remote controller having the highly functional specification as described above, it is required to further obtain the remote controller with the highly functional specification provided with the so-called multi-remote control function in the condition of already possessing an ordinary remote controller bundled as accessory equipment with every household electrical appliance as a target apparatus, which causes wastefulness because the ordinary remote controller becomes useless after the remote controller with the highly functional specification has been obtained.